Costs of new power grid projects still up for review
Monalisa Dimalanta
MANILA, Phiippines — The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) said on Friday that while it has cleared several major power grid projects, investment costs would still be reviewed to ensure that charges passed on to consumers are justified.
The ERC said project costs need to go through “further evaluation and approval” during the reset process. This refers to the mechanism to adjust transmission rates for the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines. NGCP is the operator of the country’s electricity superhighway.
ERC chair and chief executive Monalisa Dimalanta noted the agency only took note of initial prices “for the purpose of computing the permit fee.”
The final costs, she said, would be based on “actual use and expenses incurred.”
Players in the energy sector need to secure the commission’s approval for any infrastructure developments or improvements. One of ERC’s tasks is to calculate and approve how much can be recovered from consumers.
“These capex (capital expenditure) projects are critical in strengthening our power grid, to ensure a more reliable and secure electricity supply for Filipino households, businesses, and industries,” she said in a statement.
“But at the same time, it is also important to emphasize that the final costs of these projects will still undergo careful review and deliberation by the Commission to ensure consumers pay only for what is necessary and reasonable,” the ERC chief said.
Expansion of power grid system
The regulator said it has been expediting approval processes for transmission projects “in previous months.” It is particularly referring to those covering the Luzon and Visayas grids amid growing power demand.
Just this week, the ERC released a document showing two approved infrastructure projects of the NGCP worth about P32.02 billion. These are the proposed Western Luzon 500-kilovolts (kV) backbone project (Stage 2) and the Nagsaag-Santiago 500-kV transmission line project.
Earlier this year, the ERC also gave its go-signal for four more projects of the NGCP. Investments on these four reach about P5 billion.
For 2024, the ERC approved about P101.81 billion worth of power investments filed by the NGCP, distribution utilities and electric cooperatives. More than 185,000 customers across the grid system were expected to benefit from the projects.
